labor & delivery
Pain Management Options
| Pain Management Option | How It works | Cautions |
| Narcotics (Demerol, morphine, Stadol, Fentanyl, Nubain) | Given by injection into the spinal cord or arm, IV or self-administered pump (depends on the drug). These medications help you relax and take the "edge" off the pain without interfering with pushing or slowing labor. | Depends on the drug, but may cause drowsiness or breathing difficulties in babies and nausea and vomiting in you. Nubain, Fentanyl, Stadol and morphine have minimal effects on the fetus unless used in a spinal block. |
| Epidural | The most common form of anesthesia used during labor and delivery. An epidural is regional anesthesia that blocks pain to a particular part of the body; in this instance, nerves leading to the uterus. You need to have an IV started before you can receive an epidural, usually before active labor begins. The epidural is typically inserted when the
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